


King of the Forest

by laissemoidanser



Category: Carnivale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Horror, carnivale hbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 17:25:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6385558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laissemoidanser/pseuds/laissemoidanser
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The world was changing rapidly, but one thing remained the same - the mysterious dark forest. People tried to stay away from it and traveled the longest roads just to never have to cross it. The signs that read “Keep out” were placed along the old road but despite all the precautions, young girls still kept disappearing from time to time.  Some of them, without a trace, the others returned home but their sanity was lost forever."</p>
            </blockquote>





	King of the Forest

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since I've watched Carnivale I entertained the idea of writing an AU fic in style of dark fairytale because it has always been my favorite kind of AU. Iris and Justin seemed like perfect characters to do so, as they have just enough darkness in them to work with, so here's an alternative look on Justin's not-so-human nature and his tender loving Iris, who no longer has to hide her true self behind the mask of a gentle lamb.

***

 

The snow was falling softly and quietly as a three-horsed sleigh flew rapidly through the white fields and snow-covered mythical groves shimmering with specks of pure crystal. The distant lights of a village were already glimmering on the horizon, when suddenly one of the sleigh’s runners broke off and with a loud death-snap it hopped up desperately and then tipped, nearly turning over and killing its passengers.

“Miss Celeste? Are you hurt? Oh dear Lord... how could this happen! Please, don’t be scared, it’s alright! Let me help you!”  The sleigh-driver bustled, hastily helping terrified Celeste to get back up on her feet. “We’ll find our way around till the sun goes up, rest assured!”

In the light of the moon, a huge gaping wound could be seen on his temple, his breath misted in the frosty air and mingled with the vapor from the fresh blood. His fur cap fell from his head in the crash. Miraculously, Celeste herself was unharmed. Behind him, she saw a thick dark line of a forest.

“Didn’t you tell me these places are cursed, Clayton?”

Celeste was staring in terror into the forest bordered by a silver frosty haze. Like a wall, it towered over them.

“Oh! Them are just some lame stories, miss, don’t take them seriously, even if I told you one of those once, it’s nothing to break your head over...” the driver winked at her. “I promise you, you won’t have to think twice as we’ll get back to the village.”

But both of them could already feel they were in trouble. Both of them had already realized that they were not destined to return home safely that night, although they refused to accept such a terrible thought. Something was watching them. From there, from behind those huge age-old trunks shining like ivory in the dim light.

“Hurry up, Clayton, hurry up!” Celeste whispered, peering into the darkness, where, as it seemed to her, a pair of yellow eyes flashed and disappeared…

 Hardly had Clayton managed to drag the broken runner back to the sleigh, when the uninvited guests turned up from the woods.

“Ah! Damn you bastards...,” he reached for his rifle and pulled it from the sleigh, cocked it, and started shooting at the wolves that came out to the clearing, attracted by the smell of his blood.

But his hands were shaking in panic and he couldn’t hold the weapon properly, missing his target bullet by bullet.

_Those are not usual wolves_ , Clayton thought.

He’d never seen them so huge before, their bright yellow eyes were shining like lanterns in the frosty haze. They seemed to be completely unruffled by the deadly threat and kept advancing relentlessly and silently, their paws barely touching the snow, as if they were some ghostly vision, a mirage. More and more of them were appearing from the woods. Soon Clayton ran out of ammo, exhausted with despair, he gave up and threw the now useless rifle into the snow. He fell to his knees when the beasts surrounded them in a ring and stopped just a few steps away, as if in waiting.

Clayton looked back over his shoulder.

“Run, Celeste, run if you want to live. Run!”

And Celeste ran. She ran as fast as she could, never for once looking back, not wishing to see what terrible fate befell her faithful Clayton. Yet none of the wolves attempted to pursue her when she found herself in the dark embrace of the forest. She ran, blind and deaf with horror, thinking that they were just behind her back, just about to get her, and the forest path was luring her deeper and deeper into the darkness. Humpback crows were watching her with curiosity from the white branches, their coal-black eyes sparkling from the deep emptiness of their eye sockets. The fog parted before her, and the trees were reaching for her with their crooked clutches, grabbing at her face and her fair hair. At last, Celeste ran out of breath, stumbled upon a root and fell down. She cried in fear and despair, but, having looked around and made sure that no one was after her, she gathered herself a little, got up to her feet and brushed the snow off her coat. Then the darkness rolled away, and she found herself standing in front of the tall old hut with yellow-eyed windows. Smoke was pouring friendly from the chimney and Celeste was glad and felt fortunate to find such convenient shelter in such place. She hurried to climb the stairs of the porch. Without any hesitation, she knocked at the door.

It opened almost at once, and on the threshold stood a pretty woman of middle age. She seemed to be deeply alarmed by the frightened, shivering state of her guest and immediately invited her in. She warmed her up with hot tea, covered her with thick wool blanket and offered to sit by the fireplace. She was sweet and friendly, and Celeste was overwhelmed with infinite gratitude. The woman’s name was Iris and soon Celeste had no doubt that she met the kindest creature on earth. It was indeed her lucky day!

_"Won’t you help yourself to another piece of pie, my dear Celeste? Some more tea, Celeste? Are you warm enough, Celeste? Oh, my poor Celeste, I'm so sorry that you had to go through such terrible thing."_

“But Iris, may I ask you, how do you live here all alone?” Celeste wondered gently, when, finally, rational mind began to come back to her.

“I'm not alone, my dear, I live here with my brother.”

“Where is he now?”

“Oh, he'll be back very very soon.”

“But, Iris, it's so dangerous out there, aren’t you afraid that something might happen to him?”  Celeste asked anxiously, thinking about huge wolf-ghosts.

“No, dear, he'll be just fine,” Iris said, smiling radiantly. “More tea?”

Celeste handed Iris her cup.

“What’s your brother’s name?” she asked, feeling her eyelids grow heavy with sleep.

“I'll introduce you, when he comes,” Iris said. She sat down at the table in front of Celeste, the lights from the furnace were dancing in her dark eyes, and behind her, in the window, a huge moon rolled onto the sky. “He’ll come any minute now, you'll see.”

Iris sighed dreamily, and out of the forest came a bloodcurdling howl.

“Iris, what's happening?” Celeste asked. She tried to get up from her chair, but her legs would not go, and her eyes were growing heavier still, she was weak with sleep.

“He's here!” Iris whispered lustily. And in the furnace, the fire extinguished.

The door swung open, and with whistling gust of wind, the snowstorm busted into the house. From the threshold a huge tall shadow reached inside.

“She’s so pretty,” it growled deeply.

The shadow was the last thing Celeste saw that day ...

 

***

Fifty years had passed since then, the world was changing rapidly, but one thing remained the same - the mysterious dark forest. People tried to stay away from it and traveled the longest roads just to never have to cross it. The signs that read “Keep out” were placed along the old road but despite all the precautions, young girls still kept disappearing from time to time.  Some of them, without a trace, the others - returned home but their sanity was lost forever.

Fifty years later, the same sad fate befell governor’s daughter from the provincial town, which was once Celeste’s home village. She was only passing through the town but even such a short period of time was enough for the evil to get her. Her car, with its wheel broken off, was found in a ditch by the road near the woods. It remained a mystery, why she took a turn to this dangerous road. There was no evidence of an attack or a fight at the scene. From that the police drew a conclusion that the girl was likely kidnapped. However, further investigation of the crime scene proved that there were no traces nearby, not a single one, except for the footprints of the girl herself and the "animal prints" which, presumably, belonged to a very large wolf. Governor's daughter came back a few weeks later - she was exhausted and ill nourished, her body was covered all over with lacerated wounds and deep bite marks. Shortly after her return, she was sent to a psychiatric clinic and never left its walls, while the governor chose to live with the thought that his daughter had never came back from the woods.

For a long time legends about the evil pack of wolves that lived in the forest and kidnapped young girls had been travelling among the locals. Those stories were meant to frighten the children and the daughters were forbid to go out after sunset. However, the number of victims kept growing, and for the most part, those were red-haired girls. The police conducted a thorough count and put together a data on missing victims that included presumptive time and place of the next attack, still hoping to catch the culprits red handed and punish them according to the law. Now, fifty years after the story of Celeste took its tragic place, there was a brave man among the locals, named Tommy Dolan. He was determined, by all means, to find and destroy the source of evil, whoever that may be.

Tommy was a young reporter, he dreamed of a career in some fancy broadcast company, somewhere in a big city, maybe even New York. His life was filled with dreams of bright future and great ambition, his heart – with love for the girl he adored more than anything else in this world. He wanted to marry her, until, one day, his dreams were crushed. She’d gone missing and never came back to him. Despite the fact that there was no evidence whatsoever, he convinced himself that it was all the doing of those bastards who had settled in the damn woods. He was sure that his beloved could still be saved, as he believed that the girls were not killed, but only kept there as captives.

“The police won’t help us!” he declared in a loud voice one evening in the local bar, climbing up on a high bar stool. The townies nodded approvingly in response, lifting their glasses and mugs of beer. Almost each one of them had the same tragedy of loss at some point of their lives.  “Either we take the matter in our own hands, or our wives and daughters will continue to disappear, same way as it was fifty years ago! Another fifty years, and maybe more, who knows, before those fools from the police will start to move their asses and dare to go into the damn woods. Tell me, how many of you have lost your loved ones at the hands of those bastards?!”

The bar rattled with resentful remarks and shouts of approval.

“How many of you have lost your daughters? Your wives?!”

The hum of voices became even louder.

“Are we going to tolerate this furthermore, or are we going to finally take the matter in our hands ...!”

Arguing and loud discussion wouldn’t quiet down now.

“... and go into the woods with our own expedition! Hack it all out, if that what it takes, down to a single tree, but we’ll find that son of a bitch and give ‘em our own justice, much as they deserve! What say you!”

The men roared in approval.

_"Way to go, Tommy,"_ they shouted. _"String those bastards up!", "Shoot them!", "Burn them!", "How much more can we take it! We’ve suffered enough!"_

And so it was decided to organize an expedition led by Tommy Dolan himself, the youngest and most successful reporter in the long suffering town. They decided to put the expedition off till summer, when days are longer and nights, warmer. Twenty two brave men were ready to take risk and put an end to the violence. Tommy was unanimously recognized as their captain.

 

***

In the afternoon they all drove up to the edge of the forest. They left the engines of their cars on for a while as if in doubt whether they should carry on with the plan or not. Even in the bright sunlight the woods seemed dark and forbidding. But the signs didn’t stop them, didn’t warn them of the danger ahead. So they took up their rifles and revolvers and stepped onto the enemy’s territory.

The farther they went into the forest, the colder and darker it was getting, even the twilight seemed to have deepened earlier than usual, because the rays of the sun barely reached this kingdom of darkness. The crows were sitting solemnly on the twisted tree branches, with their heads bowed in thoughtful contemplation as they watched the intruders with their lifeless eyes - shining embers in the pitch black. Like silent guards, they followed the only disturbers of order and stillness in their gloomy realm, listening to the echo of twigs crackling under the men’s feet and reading into the future with sinister smiles.

Five members of the expedition turned back two days later. Tommy was the only one still determined to find and punish the kidnappers, although, a crippling fear had already settled even at his heart. An unspoken confidence that no human being could possibly live in such a place... not even the most desperate outlaw. For three days they walked the barely traceable path, which in the evenings was lost completely under the thick veil of sticky fog. For three days they didn’t talk much, made fire and set camp in silence, afraid to sleep at night, listening to the slightest noises outside. As if any spare word falling from their lips would somehow violate the sacred quiet of that ancient church, erected by nature itself. Some of the men admitted that at night they’d heard someone whispering prayers just a few steps away from the camp, a little child ... They wanted to come out and look, but the fear wouldn’t let them.

“It happens,” Tommy assured them, although mostly he was trying to save what was left of his own confidence. “In places like this, people hear things sometimes. Nothing special about that. Just remember why we are here, try not to let this fear take hold of your thoughts. We’re doing the right thing. It needs to be done, so Godspeed.”

On the third day the path had led them to a ramshackle abandoned manor. God knows how old those ruins were. Its garden, once set up by the porch, had long gone wild and took up the whole territory, broke into the woods, merging with the local flora. The house itself could barely be seen under a thick layer of ivy, but there was no doubt that someone lived in this place once.

“Hey, guys!” one of the men called out quietly. ”Would you look at that!”

The group gathered around two gravestones, overgrown with moss and covered with the withering yellow leaves. Two sorrowful reminders of once glimmering life. Time had almost completely erased the inscriptions, but the names were still readable enough.

 

_"Irina L. Belyakov. Loving sister"_

_"Alexei L. Belyakov. Loving brother"_

It was also obvious that someone was taking care of these graves. Weeds around them had been pulled out and at the base of each gravestone a fresh bouquet of wild flowers was placed, together with a collection of various bird feathers. As if someone wanted to make a tiny sacrificial altar here.

“We must be getting close now.” Tommy said.

“I don’t like it,” one of the men remarked and spat. “My grandma used to tell me those stories when I was little. Old as the world. About a brother and a sister who loved one another as lovers can. You know what I mean. One day, they were cursed and banished from the city. No one seen them since....but they found shelter in the woods. Now, if they ever commit their sin again – they’ll be forever doomed to the fires of hell and eternal suffering. Their souls can’t find peace, wandering somewhere in these woods….”

The men looked around in fear.

“The hell did you tell this story for, you idiot!”

But none of them could fight the growing panic any longer. Three more decided to turn back that day. Tommy wasn’t yet ready to give up, or, at least, he didn’t seem so.

Trying to stick together and not to stray from the path, they followed him blindly. And at the moment when even Tommy had lost all his hope, when he was about to tell them that their expedition was over, they found themselves at the meadow and saw an old hut in the middle of it. There was no sign of life anywhere around, no trace of the missing girls or the kidnappers themselves. But something told Tommy Dolan that they’d found the place. That something, a tiny voice of reason, also told him that they should escape from there right that instant, run away as fast as they could, because such places don’t usually leave any living memories....

“We're here.”  He concluded.

“What now?” Asked one of those bravest men who had enough courage and ignorance to make it this far. They were not aware that they were all speaking only in a whisper now.

“What do you mean ‘what now’? Have you forgotten? Come on. Let’s burn it and go back.”

The men heaped dry twigs around the hut and poured gasoline over them carefully. They worked quickly, in hurry to get it over and done with, to get away from the cursed forest and return home, in safety. However, as soon as the first match was lit, a dreadful howling shook the forest awake, everywhere around them. It seemed as if a pack of wolves was somewhere very close by; just a few steps away, had been watching them all this time and now voiced their presence.

“Wolves!”

The men turned around, trying to see exactly where the source of danger was. They started backing off towards the hut, that same hut they’d wanted to burn down just a few moments ago. Now they could clearly see yellow eyes, shining like lanterns, watching from the quickly gathering darkness. Then the beasts came out to the meadow, baring their teeth at their prey, snarling viciously, their white fur stood on end so that they appeared even bigger.

“It is them.” Tommy whispered, releasing safety on his rifle with trembling fingers. His group followed his suit. “It's them. Shoot, shoot!”

He took aim and fired, getting one of the wolves right between the eyes. The beast whined loudly before collapsing on the ground. The rest of them kept coming and grinned angrily. Shots fired down on them like rain, the wolves kept falling, one by one, but those still standing were relentlessly coming closer. Suddenly it was night, a complete darkness enveloped the forest as the huge moon appeared in the sky and burst into color blood-red. A murmur ran among Tommy’s people, they were at the brink of maddening panic. Next moment a blizzard started, a blinding snowstorm veiled everything around. A snow blizzard right in the middle of summer. The beasts could be hardly seen now, but their howling made the men’s blood run cold. They kept shooting blindly and were slowly walking backwards, retreating until they heard a creaking noise behind. The door to the hut opened to meet them, luring them inside with the warm light of fire burning in the furnace.

They had no choice. The wolves were closing in on them, and the storm was freezing them to the bone. One after another, they rushed inside, closing the door behind them firmly. All the rifles were aimed at the dark female silhouette by the furnace. She stood motionless, her hands clasped together as if in silent prayer. Her face could not be seen in the shadows outlined by the moonlight. The men were confused, didn’t know how to react to such an unexpected turn of events. Of course, they expected to find a bunch of killers here, desperate ruffians, but there was one single fragile woman standing in front of them.

“Madam, don’t be afraid,” Tommy lowered his rifle and held his hand out towards her, letting her know that he wasn’t going to hurt her. “What’s your name?”

“Iris.”

“We are here to help you, Iris. We'll get you out of here.”

The woman remained silent for a moment. Then she brought her hands up to her lips and let out a little quiet giggle.

“ Iris?”

Her shoulders trembled, then she threw her head back and burst into a ringing laughter.

The men stepped back until their backs were pressed against the door, raising their rifles again. Her crazy laughter was more terrifying than the howling of hungry beasts outside. The door behind them opened once more and its hinges screeched as the silver spilling moonlight was obscured by a huge shadow.

“Jesus Christ ...” Tommy Dolan whispered forgetting all about his holy mission and dropped his rifle when a thing unholy and dreadful stepped over the threshold with its huge clawed paws.

The house was filled with screams, pleadings of mercy. Scarlet trickles of blood streamed down the wooden floor. Iris climbed on the table, careful not to stain her new shoes. She was still laughing, as she watched the bloody carnage from above.

“You fools!” she shouted in time with a gruesome growling. “You fools! ... Bloody fools!!”

Thus ended the infamous expedition of the brave Tommy Dolan.

 

***

A silver comb was shining in the soft light of burning candles and fire from the furnace. But its silver seemed bleak and plain compared to the silver of his hair. The comb’s teeth got stuck in the rebellious strands and he jerked his head away harshly in a sign of his displeasure.

“I’m almost done, Justin.” Iris reassured him lovingly and smoothed the strand curl down with the palm of her hand, stroking his hair, tips of her fingers lingering at his freshly shaved nape. Justin let out a deep sigh.

Their home had no memory of all the grim deaths that had taken place there; on the contrary, it was shining with a fireside comfort and cleanliness. The room was filled with a sweet smell of bath oils and the air was still soft and humid with steam. Reluctantly, Iris took her hands off his hair, still a little damp, and took a step back. She sat down on the edge of the table, inclined her head and watched her brother wistfully, admiring him.

Justin was in his snow-white shirt, buttoned up to the very last pearly button, he was wearing the black vest over it, which accentuated the line of his broad shoulders so finely. He glanced up at Iris with his blue eyes, cold like pieces of ice, despite the heated up space.

“How's your hand?” Iris asked him anxiously, reaching for a fresh bandage over his left wrist, where the bloodstains had already soaked through. Justin didn’t let her touch it, jerked his hand away, and Iris returned to a careful contemplation.

“This is the first time they got so close, Iris. What did you want to accomplish by that?” his voice was biting and full of hurt, but it cut through her, like hot knife cuts through melting butter. He was angry at her for compelling him to come back ahead of his time, for making him truly scared. Scared for her.

“My poor Alexei, just look what they did to you.”  Iris shook her head, as if ignorant of the fact that this was actually and mostly, her own doing. “I haven’t seen you for so long. I've eaten my heart out thinking about you. Every day, I can’t make myself step away from the window, I’m worried that you might get in trouble out there. I had to make sure ... “

“You know exactly, when I come to you. And what is needed for me to come.” Justin lifted his chin proudly, his eyes - shining steel, sparkling with cold dignity and false indifference. However, his features were softening, in spite of everything, the longer he looked into her eyes, gentle and kind, welcoming him like home, the only place where he could keep warm. The moon in the window was shining above her head like a crown. And Justin wanted to go down to his knees, to bow down before her. “But no one dares to come close to you without my permission.”

He got up to his feet suddenly, rushed over to her until he was up close. He froze in place, his nostrils flaring as he sucked the air in noisily.

“I need more, Ira,” he rasped passionately, fixing his eyes on her lips. His pupils dilated, so that the icy blue was almost replaced with pitch blackness. “I need more sacrifices.”

Iris’ gaze was full of fire now, her courage whipped his desire back to life, and he was powerless.

“Don’t you say that! I don’t deserve that! As if you don’t know how it sickens me… the thought that you seek to replace me with those others. I don’t want to find false prophets for you anymore ...”

Justin scowled angrily, she almost had time to predict what was coming next, when his fingers dug painfully into the flesh of her thighs and he spread them forcefully, pressing even closer to her. His lips were a thin line, his features distorted.

“In that case, I always have a backup plan.”

He towered over her, like a wall, blocking any chance of escape. She could swear that he hated her at that moment, but it mattered no longer when she clang to his lips with her own. Justin tensed for a mere second, then embraced her greedily, pulled her in, kissed her back. The kiss literally burned them, every next breath they took was like a breath of fire, they didn’t stop though, couldn’t break away from each other, even when the pain became unbearable.

Burned, wounded, punished, they would once more obediently return into the darkness, where they are doomed to burn with eternal flame of forbidden love and where nothing and no one can ever stop them. But all this would be later, as for now - they rob fate of one thing that makes them who they are and defines their existence. At any cost.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
